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Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs Vectra AI comparison

 

Comparison Buyer's Guide

Executive SummaryUpdated on Dec 19, 2024

Review summaries and opinions

We asked business professionals to review the solutions they use. Here are some excerpts of what they said:
 

ROI

Sentiment score
6.7
Cisco Secure IPS effectively detects threats and integrates with NIST, yielding positive ROI despite setup costs and financial quantification challenges.
Sentiment score
7.1
Vectra AI enhances security efficiency, reduces threat response times, and offers cost-effective risk management compared to other solutions.
 

Customer Service

Sentiment score
7.2
Cisco Secure IPS customer service is praised for expertise but noted for inconsistent response times and initial contact challenges.
Sentiment score
8.2
Vectra AI's customer service is responsive, knowledgeable, and generally praised, though complex issues might experience occasional delays.
A few years ago, I had a very bad situation. We lost a lot of money, and I opened for the first time in my life, a case with priority one. The person responsible for the ticket didn't respond for two days.
The response was fast, and they provided experts to solve our issues quickly.
Fortinet, on the other hand, offers quicker response times and same-day RMAs, which gives them an edge in customer service.
The support is quite reliable depending on the service engineer assigned.
When I create tickets, the response is fast, and issues are solved promptly.
 

Scalability Issues

Sentiment score
7.0
Cisco Secure IPS scalability varies; effective for large environments but may need upgrades for extensive user capacity.
Sentiment score
7.5
Vectra AI is scalable and flexible, easily integrating with cloud platforms, but may require planning and can be costly.
 

Stability Issues

Sentiment score
7.5
Cisco Secure IPS is stable but has bugs; continuous improvements are needed to compete with Fortinet and Palo Alto.
Sentiment score
8.0
Vectra AI is praised for stability, requiring minimal maintenance, with efficient updates and quick issue resolution ensuring reliable performance.
The software situation with Cisco is problematic.
 

Room For Improvement

Cisco Secure IPS needs better SIEM integration, user interface, stability, reporting, scalability, pricing, support, and cloud and endpoint integration.
Vectra AI needs better visibility, integration, flexibility, reporting, and customization, plus improved UI, detection accuracy, and endpoint coverage.
Incorporating AI capabilities would enhance its functionality.
Graphical interfaces are very nice, but when you've got thousands of objects in a big installation and have to configure many things, CLI is a much faster way to do it.
ExtraHop's ability to decrypt encrypted data is a feature that Vectra AI lacks.
You need to have a Linux server, and from the Linux server, you must perform AI tasks, and there is a lot to be handled in the back end.
Neither Vectra nor Darktrace have a function like a status health check on my log sources and traffic sources.
 

Setup Cost

Cisco Secure IPS is costly, especially versus competitors, with pricing influenced by features, support, and potential bundling discounts.
Vectra AI's pricing varies; it's seen as costly yet competitive for quality, with complex licensing needing simplification.
It's cheaper to integrate with existing IT security solutions compared to other expensive brands with subscription costs.
Vectra is cheaper in terms of pricing and features compared to Darktrace.
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
 

Valuable Features

Cisco Secure IPS provides robust protection with strong integration, intelligence, and ease of use for comprehensive cybersecurity measures.
Vectra AI excels in threat detection, risk management, and seamless integration, enhancing security operations with AI-driven insights.
They can discover new versions of malware, which is very beneficial.
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is quite powerful for threat detection and includes botnet detection.
The main feature of Vectra AI that I find valuable is its focus on the user interface and its approximately two hundred algorithms based on artificial intelligence and machine learning.
There are extensive out-of-box detection capabilities.
 

Categories and Ranking

Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
10th
Average Rating
8.0
Reviews Sentiment
6.7
Number of Reviews
69
Ranking in other categories
No ranking in other categories
Vectra AI
Ranking in Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
4th
Average Rating
8.6
Reviews Sentiment
7.1
Number of Reviews
45
Ranking in other categories
Network Detection and Response (NDR) (2nd), Extended Detection and Response (XDR) (18th), Identity Threat Detection and Response (ITDR) (10th), AI-Powered Cybersecurity Platforms (6th)
 

Mindshare comparison

As of September 2025, in the Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) category, the mindshare of Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is 4.5%, up from 4.2% compared to the previous year. The mindshare of Vectra AI is 10.6%, down from 10.8% compared to the previous year. It is calculated based on PeerSpot user engagement data.
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS) Market Share Distribution
ProductMarket Share (%)
Vectra AI10.6%
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS)4.5%
Other84.9%
Intrusion Detection and Prevention Software (IDPS)
 

Featured Reviews

Yosevan Sinaga Sinaga - PeerSpot reviewer
Effectively identifies malicious behavior while future automation and AI advancements hold potential
Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) is quite powerful for threat detection and includes botnet detection. It effectively blocks unwanted software, hashes, and suspicious behaviors. The tool is easy to integrate with other IT security solutions due to similar protocols. The system offers effective threat detection features, although automation capabilities are not yet fully utilized.
Mohammad Alkurdi - PeerSpot reviewer
Innovative detection features enhance monitoring
The advantages of the integration are not entirely out-of-the-box. You have to do it manually. When I'm doing tier response, an out-of-the-box solution is not available. You need to have a Linux server, and from the Linux server, you must perform AI tasks, and there is a lot to be handled in the back end. This is a major consideration about them. The recall feature, if it can be placed in some areas instead of the cloud, and charged for, would be better. Recall the storage where you watch all the traffic, and you can recall it and try to analyze it in the back end. It’s cloud-based. If they offer it on-prem, it would be better. I think they have a solution, but I have never tested it, to be honest with you.
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Top Industries

By visitors reading reviews
University
17%
Computer Software Company
11%
Comms Service Provider
7%
Educational Organization
7%
Financial Services Firm
12%
Computer Software Company
11%
Manufacturing Company
8%
Government
7%
 

Company Size

By reviewers
Large Enterprise
Midsize Enterprise
Small Business
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business26
Midsize Enterprise17
Large Enterprise26
By reviewers
Company SizeCount
Small Business8
Midsize Enterprise10
Large Enterprise27
 

Questions from the Community

What do you like most about Cisco NGIPS?
The product's initial setup phase was easy.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Cisco NGIPS?
Cisco is one of the top brands known for cost-effectiveness, making it worth the money. It's cheaper to integrate with existing IT security solutions compared to other expensive brands with subscri...
What needs improvement with Cisco NGIPS?
There are numerous things that could be improved about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) to get it back on track. Sollution for small branches: when we have to connect a lot very small branches (or sometime...
What is the biggest difference between Corelight and Vectra AI?
The two platforms take a fundamentally different approach to NDR. Corelight is limited to use cases that require the eventual forwarding of events and parsed data logs to a security team’s SIEM or ...
What do you like most about Vectra AI?
The solution is currently used as a central threat detection and response system.
What is your experience regarding pricing and costs for Vectra AI?
It is very acceptable when you compare it with Darktrace, for example.
 

Also Known As

Sourcefire NGIPS, Firepower NGIPS
Vectra Networks, Vectra AI NDR
 

Overview

 

Sample Customers

American Electric Power, Huntington Bank, Keycorp, Nationwide, Transunion, Marriott, Inova Health, Ford, Thomson Reuters, Dow Chemical, Equifax, Chevron, Walmart, Coca Cola
Tribune Media Group, Barry University, Aruba Networks, Good Technology, Riverbed, Santa Clara University, Securities Exchange, Tri-State Generation and Transmission Association
Find out what your peers are saying about Cisco Secure IPS (NGIPS) vs. Vectra AI and other solutions. Updated: September 2025.
867,349 professionals have used our research since 2012.